Overhead lighting system for miniature theaters



March 2, 1954 A. R. JOHNSON OVERHEAD LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR MINIATURETHEATER 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR f l A NEY AZ eff/Q, 7021125021 March2, 1954 A. R. JOHNSON OVERHEAD LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR MINIATURE THEATERS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 3l, 1952 m\1 w. QQ QQ d SN n R 0 mm Nh E a VJm.

ArroRNEY March 2, 1954 A. R. JOHNSON 2,671,161

NG SYSTEM FOR MINIATURE THEATERS OVERHEAD LIGHTI 3 lSheets-Sheet 3 FiledMarch 3l, 1952 ef 522 n ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 2, 1954 UNITEDVOVERHEDfIIG'H MINIATUR TING SYSTEMFOR E THEATERS? Albertl ,R. Johnson,New-l Y.ork,N. Y.

Applica/tomMreh 31,

3:1;Glaims; l

The present invention: relates to. ;a: miniature theatre and Y itparticularly relatesrto: a: lighting arrangement particularly toa beutilized'fin connection with ay miniature;.theatrev to give1unusual,controlled lightingeiects:

It iis among the; objects; of theI present ini/'ensA tionl to provide anovel miniaturefftheatre and' particularly a' lighting .arrangementVtherefor; which will enablev complete@ presentation of^`dramaticproductions and give not only a complete lighting arrangement.: andivariationA Vof lighting eects 1 as is possible in' the,vr commercialitheatre' but: in. addition. to givef` unusual; attractivelight'L ing.:eiiectsV particularlyn designed for a: miniature theatre; and to: give:greater. emphasi's:in:viewf of the smaller size.

A further object.` off the;presentinvention is to.: provide a; miniaturetheatre f andf partieularl'yf an: illuminating arrangement? thereforwhich f.wi=ll enable accurateY adjustrnentii` and control of( theillumination', .including spot: lighting; color changes an'dAgradations: inf the lightingr values aswill' best expose the curtain or@stage: to., :View: or' to enable emphasis-itcr b'e placed uponafdiier,ent parts ofthe stage-orh upolrthefcharacters being displayed ordramatized thereon.

Another object` of theA present iV invention isf to provide a small,miniaturelstage Which-.may"b`e readilyI operatedv` for constprofessional purposes, which"` may'I be'fvvi'dlyj eine ployedin a.school asewell"asiindramatiei meetings f orf societies and* which?l canbeT emplcyedf' tov demonstrate# various 1 theatrical #presentations-fat-f lcwfxcosi'.-= andi-without the :neeessityfof' exceptinal training:on the-spartoif'tlie --workmenworf emes plyees:

Another object.v

of f the presents invention isz toprovide' a simple,l durable; readily'.collapsed and: 1e=assembledf miniature theatre-- Vconstructiony which issubstantially lire-proof and'wwithou-t electricalswitchesl or other.3spark^causing#'` devices;l vandi Wit-lr evenf one for two else-tricabulbs: toa-...give`v a wide:l variety; range=y and control@` off? colon;gradation', spotilli'ghtingaand so'ffrtl-i.

Stillf furtherV obj ects?. andi f advantages .Willi apipear in the'lmore.I detailedff description x -set v"fortln un'derstocdr however; thatthis morev detailed descriptienis'I givenf-byswayofilfv lustration :andfexplanationi only r-andnot? by' Way: of i limitation; sincevarionsfrchaisigesn therein: may bezrmadezbtt those .f skilled;` inf.-theffartiwithout desy partngfrom stlieaseope-fandf spirit'1offithe-fpresent invention.

yImaceompiisiiingttheeabovenbiectsg;itihessiieenv foundmostesaztisfactoryrto fcrmithc entirmstaaei off a: :seriesrA ofivslotted;- heavy paperrorrffplastic.' sheets, so arranged thattheyf-mayf'beelconnected to one' another as thef front; back; filoor;ceiling; and; covers of a i miniaturea theatre:`

In'v the preferredI embodiment; thematerial-z Whichf is,I employed z is.of =1ilrehproof.materiaorl of,H material'which isy treated so.: astofbesrea. proof, and; above.- the: theatre and' betweenffthe; roof.:and' ceiling:l or dome isy positioned; aarsingle orseveral electriclbulbs,. a` single bulbfusualtyf being preferable, which willserve.=as:thef:solef, source of i illumination',

The present inventionzis.Iv particularly directed; to the :manner in.which .this :singleffbuilbgonesevia eral bulbs, is transmitted to orarranged'riuponf.

the-stage.

The ceiling or roof at the consisting :of-a horizontal; plastic or.treated paper sheet, is desirably,providedewithl-a seriesfoffpas- 20Isagewayss or parallel? arrangements: positioned closely side by side andsextend-fromsideto-'side laterally: ofthe miniature theatre;

Each of these passageways'is: providedewithiahinge'd'shutter:arrangement;-y pr top` .of theastate';

give; a y controlled* illuminati-@nnte diiierent' portions. off vthest'agef` from7A tliefront tothe lbackthereof' Desirably; these'sh-utters may lb'e'- mailer-b Allhave ing a sheet of paperl orplasticmaterial=fwivthftopxv and bottombover facesswhich extend overor-are attached to-the# upper face oreftop-faeer of the roof oi?the-.theatre andwhich-Wi'llfiseryef asfhinge or v pivotv connections;

Iii-addition; each" passageway or' light runway. at the top ofthe roofisproyidedrwithxdjustableslide members which. may. ,Vary .the cnlon orthedistributionof t 'e..light-apartiromiand., independent of4 the`shutters...

For exampleftheslide members-.may-fha/Y2a series. oi :transverse orlongiiudlinali,` slots:v lfiQrr cular on oyalopenings arra-ngeclr-atisiltion that as they are passageways, they will'- ationA of the-'lighter ceitherf: change: the; colorause.-y concentrations. of? the;V light:`orfv Spott-light 0.??"cliiie1'ent-- port-ions: off' the; sectionsfoffthe-stage fromifront'" to=-ba l lil-y tliereef1A Desi-rably; the acting:figures mayft lbe prevideidf'f with faces.v which', may beL of*ypermanent magnet'- materialgsuch asthe; alloy known asf-MalpicaandvbLelovv-,ftheJ floor ofi the theatre there maybe '551-3 positionedslider members-with=magnetslthereon moved or slid along??they,

to move these gures around in predetermined position.

The magnets on the control members below the stage, as well as at thebase of the figures, are desirably so arranged that by suitablemanipulation, the gure can be caused to turn or can be caused to faceforwardly at all times, and if desired will not at any time turn itsback upon the audience.

In the preferred construction, the dome of the theatre is provided withsuitable ventilation to ventilate the heat of the illuminating electricbulb, and similarly the iront of the theatre is provided with a pull-upor drop-down curtain which may be co-ordinated with a lightingarrangement at the iront or the top section of the stage to give asimulated lighting for the theatre when the curtain is down, whichlighting is automatically cut 01T when the curtain is lifted.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists of the novel construction, combination andarrangement oi parts as hereinafter more specifically described, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodimentof the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variationsand modications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of theclaims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the stage.. showing the toplighting arrangement with the curtain elevated and with several of thefigures in position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view upon the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a transverse central vertical sectional view upon the line 3-3of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view upon the line 4-4 of Figs. l, 2and 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view upon the line 5--5 of Figs. 1, 2,and 3.

Fig. 6 is a top perspective view of a color slide which may be utilizedin controlling the color of the light from the top of the theatre.

Fig. 7 is a top perspective view showing a slidable spot-light controlarrangement.

Fig. 8 is a top perspective view oi a magnet control .bar forcontrolling the movement and position oi the rigores to be insertedthrough and utilized under the licor of the stage.

Fig. 9 is a rear perspective View of a typical gure which may beutilized for producing the theatrical or dramatic performance.

Referring to Figs. l to 4, the arrangement has a stage A with a floorstructure B and a lighting dome C.

The present invention is particularly directed to the lighting orilluminating control system D, which embodies the hinged shutters E, Gand H and the slideways or runways J, K, L and M.

Cooperating with the control shutters E, F, G and H on the runways J, K,L and M are the color slides N and the control spot-light illuminationslides O.

The stage itself is provided with a series of partition members P whichmay give back-drop effects or serve to give partial or complete backscenery, and on the floor B of the stage A are positioned the iigures Rshown in small scale in Figs. l, 2 and 3 and in large scale in Fig. 9.

Below the licor oi-the theatre may be positioned the control bars Swhich will control. and enable adjustment of the gures R.

' lar The theatre structure itself is preferably provided withinterfitting flats of sheet material, such as berboard, cardboard,plywood, plastic or even light metal, and the members may be connectedto one another by slotted connections, screws, pins or dowels.

There is provided a front, vertical main sheet element lll to which isconnected the rearwardly extending face member Il, the rearwardlyextending iicor stage member i2 and the floor roof member I3.

The dome C is formed oi the top element Hl, the downwardly extendingfront member l5, the rearwardly and downwardly extending member l', andthere may be a back cover member Il closing oi the rear of the theatre.

Mounted in the ceiling 44 is the socket 25 having the nange connection2E which received the light bulb 21. y

The sides 28 of the dome C are desirably provided with the Ventilatingarrangement 23 to permit iiow of air through the dome C.

The light from the bulb will normally pass orwardly to the irontlighting arrangement Si? in the front, vertical member lil, as indicatedby the arrow 3l, and it will also pass downwardly as indicated by thearrows 33, 3d, and 35, into each of the runways J, K, L and M in anamount depending upon the position of the shutters E, F, G and H.

To the rear of the front member l!) is the curtain 3e, which may beengaged between the iront member I0 and the rear panel 3l. This curtainwhen drawn up to the position of the openings 3l) will cut off the lightfrom the bulb 21, passing in the direction 3l.

The curtain 36 may be raised and lowered by the cord 38, which passesover the guides 38 and All and may be tied at lli on the rear of thepanel i0 and to the side of the stage A.

As is shown best'in Fig. 3 the celing or roof i3 of the stage A has aplurality of grooved members 50, 5I, 52, 53 and 54 which form runways orslotways for insertionof the elements N and O and which are positionedbelow the shutters E, F and At the sides of the miniature theatre, asshown in Fig. 2, there are provided slots 55, 55, 5': and 58 whichcommunicate with the slidcways formed by the groovesin the blocks 5B,5l, 52, 53 and 5t.

It is possible to insert in the slots 55 to 5B and in the grooves of theblocks to 54 the color slides N as well as the spot-light slides Ol, togive a controlled distribution of color and spot-light illumination tothe front and back of the stage.

As shown in Fig. 6, the color slide is relatively stiir so it may beslid in and out of the slots to 58 and it may all be of one color or ofa gradation of different colors from side to side or from end to end.

The slider O, on the other hand, is shown with one opening 59 but theremay be a whole series of different size and shape openings in differentrows or other arrangements, as for example as indicated by the circularopening G0 and the relatively rectangular opening 6l of Fig. 4.

By positioning these openings at different places along the the stagemay be adequately controlled.

In the spot-light slider O, it will be noted that there is a stopshoulder or head 62 with the projecting gripping of the end of theslider O.

vThe transparent Aelements desirably have simibeads E4 with theshoulders 65', which may slideways J to M, the light on edges 63, which`will enable convenient .exam-e1 5 bbe manipulatedfffrom the oppositerends. rof- #the runways. alito-iM'.

yAS1 `showniinligi .-`3,the.v shuttersh'ltoilLy all :face 'f towardftheli'ghtiin an :upright position' and'Y Athey fdesifrably fareprovided :with :re'ecting- "faces iat 6'6, 16 1-,' 08 s:andflfltore'iiect.' the@ light I downwardly -onfthe stage fllheirhinges '10,f||.',`1;2.and f1.3 fmay'fbe mountedonfthe'blocks 50,551, 52.*and15l andthey mayiconsist of-:a.surface =ply which is l pasted -to bothfthes'huttersE tof-Haswell asithe mounting blocks.

iliheseshutters fare slotted so ras, to f be `guided along the quartercircularedges'fflfl,l 15,116 and r11 in-ftlae-fsideipanel members #2 8',and theref-is ;a

sucient projection, as indicated .fat 18,331389 t :and im, :to :give afhandle which: enablesfsuitable adjustment Vof fthe angular position.

` :'In the arrangement'. shown in 4lligs. v2 :and- 3, each o'f theshutters E-to- H' are in vertical :=posi'- tion, giving the maximumillumination to Ythe stage -A from the vlight 2l. This may be varied bylowering the shutters E to H where they will close off entirely the`runways or slot-ways J` to M to cut offv alllightuponithe'stageA.

In Eig. 4 the runway or empty, without either spotlight or colorslidesin .positionand with the entire .area ofthe slot dened bythe end edges90 andthe sideedges 9| being .available for passage of light from thelight sourcez'l.

This will give a maximum illumination 'to the portion of the stage,indicated by the numeral 92 in Figs. 2 and 3, below the slot-way orrunway L.

The rear slot-way or runway M is provided with a color sl1de N whichwill illuminate the portion of the stage indicated by the numeral 93with the color of the particular slide N.

In the slot-way or runway K, there is both a color slide N.

By arranging the position of the shutters E, H and the position of thecolor slide N and the spot-light slides O, the illumination on the stagemay be controlled in accordance with the requirements of the dramaticsituation and the position of the figures R.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be noted that there are a series ofslide member P in position to give the back-drop or scenery effect.

Depending from the ceiling I3 may be a series of members 00 to |06 whichform the slots I0?, |08, |09, H0, ||2 and H3. These slots cooperate withthe slot members H4, H5, H6, Il?, 8, 9 and |20, which serve to hold thebackdrop elements P in position both at the roof and floor of the state.

These scenes or back-drops may extend partly or wholly into the v' iblearea of the stage to give the desired scenic effects.

It will be noted that the corners of the elements |00 to |06 arerounded, as indicated at 2 to enable more ready insertion of theback-drops or scenery effects P.

The gures as shown in Fig. 9 consist of upright simulations of the humanform on a small scale, which are painted or decorated on their frontsides, as shown in Fig. 1, and which are' provided with bar magnets 3|with down-turned ends held in position by the clips |32.

Below the floor I2 of the state are a series of for the presentation 6.fguidesfcrarrlersfil. 13,41, allai, 4m6, I'leandf t3 8, in whichfmaybeslidcmitrolznenibers:withzthe -fendvmagnets 3&39.

Normally the figures R will heucansed toimoye "laterallyl :across:thefristagevrather 'than trans- .versel-y.back-andsforth Jcetweenatheyslot-:ways 10.? to ||3, and ||4 to |20.

.Ihe polarity ofithe magnetslS-.l and .|39 are so .controlled as:itougive .the .desired ,-.eifect :and .maintain .the figures It passing4:forwardly .at .all times.

As shown in Fig. 5, a seriesroft the control memberssareindicatedeas'being. in position, Vcontrolling theingureslR. at-fthefront rand" middle .of ythe stage, with thefmagnets: 139. .positioned.at one sidefzofthe stage.

However, itlrese magnets may be .readily moved yto .m'ove .the'li'lguresR.Y laterally across '.the stage and in some instances the gures maybepicked upbymnegmagnetaandcmovedto another magnet `tozgivtefaba'ck-.andf-:forthumotion s as well .as `the lateralifcross motion.

Theziront.aofthessta'ga :as: indicated at M5, .has a:seri`es:offoot-light: arrangements which maybe illuminated; zby .a `rlarnp.:positioned between the basefill fandfthe door t2.

'The :apertura 'of :the stage :formed between the side edges 5MB,.the-.itop/edge fm1 `andthe bottom edge |`481=may--be Widely variedv .inshape, design J and expanse.

r rate with time.

It will be noted that the front shutters E, F and G close the rearshutter faces forwardly so that the front reflecting surface will alwaysbe directed toward the light source.

As indicated best in Fig. 5, the scenery or backdrops P are merely sideelements and terminate at the side edges of the state, as indicated at|50, Il and |52.

If desired, the stage licor I2 may have different levels instead of thesame lever as indicated.

The color slides N may be either of transparent or translucent coloredplastic sheet materials.

The grooves or recesses in the sides of the blocks 50 to 54 desirablyare so Wide that they can receive both the color slide N as well as theopaque spot-light slide O.

The theatre arrangement shown and designed of plays, musical comedies,pageants, spectacles and pantomimes and there may be provided a completeworking script and directions for each type of play or dramaticproduction.

The theatre may be operated by one or more persons and the entireminiature theatre is desirably positioned at eye level.

The operators may be positioned in back of a drop or screen of light,opaque material, which may be positioned alongside or back of the stagefront I0.

The operators at the rear of the miniature theatre may have speakingparts and they will control the lighting shutters E to H and slides N, Oand S.

The entire theatre as shown may be knocked down and packaged in smallform and it may be assembled with or without the use of glue.

rihere may be a set of scenery or slides and figures R arranged for eachtype of dramatic or other production and a new play may be producedweekly or monthly, as the case may be, and it is particularly effectiveupon television.

The illumination 30 gives the eiect of a chandelier of a theatre.

Although the structure is of miniature or toy size, it may be made muchlarger for actual trial dramatic productions.

While there has been described a preferred form of the invention, itshould be understood that the same may be altered in details and inrelative arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

The present application is a continuation-inpart of application Ser. No.728,877, filed February 15, 1947, and now abandoned.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

1. In a miniature or toy theatre of the type having a housing oflight-weight sheet material having vertical front, back and side walls,a horizontal floor or deck forming a stage iioor on which the actiontakes place, said front Wall having an approximately rectangular openingthrough which the stage iioor may be viewed from the front of thetheatre, a top lighting structure including an open ceiling, a domeabout said ceiling and an electric incandescent lamp positioned in saiddome and positioned to shine downwardly upon and illuminate the stageiioor through said ceiling, said ceiling having a plurality oftransverse laterally extending apertures positioned in side-by-siderelationship from the front to the back of the theatre, said transverseapertures permitting the light to illuminate the stage, and slidersmovably inserted above said apertures to control the amount and color ofsaid illumination and elongated rectangular reiiectors pivotally mountedat the sides of the apertures to control the amount of light reflectedthrough said apertures onto said stage.

2. The theatre of claim 1, said sliders including color lighttransmitting strips which will transmit the variation of the coloracross the stage from front to rear.

3. The theatre of claim 1 in which the sliders are opaque and havecontrolled openings to regulate the amount of light and position oflight directed upon the stage from said top lighting structure.

ALBERT R. JOHNSON.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

